Compact, solid and holds together very well. I was afraid it'll be a jumbled mess but everything pegs together and stays in one piece. It doesn't have any sort of landing gear but does rest flat on the table. It looks pretty good and I like it, the chest piece sits a bit more flush against the body than the stock photos shows, it's sleek and looks like a plausible spaceship. It's not too small, about on par with the Prime First Edition deluxes. As far as Cybertronian modes go (and Earthen ones for that matter), it's very good.

Transformation:

The transformation surprised me, I didn't know what to expect and it turned out to be a fun transformation. It's simple, and easy to handle. Going between the modes takes a minute or so. There's nothing fiddly, and importantly, it's intuitive. There's no manipulation of thin flimsy parts. There's a head reveal gimmick of sorts seen in the Prime RiD deluxes in that when you peg in the chest, the head pops up automatically (think RiD Ratchet). It doesn't cause any compromise to the figure at all. Granted, there's nothing impressive about the engineering but it works in Shockwave's favour.

Robot Mode:

Not as small as I had feared, yes, there is a reduction in mass and size, but holding it in your hands, it's not too obvious. Shockwave is skinny, and if you look carefully, there's no abundance of paint (but he doesn't need it, being primarily purple anyway). I love how he has two fists, you can either attach the laser cannon (a separate piece) as a gun (it has a 5mm post), or fold in his hand and peg the cannon so it's like he has the cannon for an arm. The latter is preferable since by holding as a gun, the handle is too far forward and prevents Shockwave's elbow from bending (i.e. it's too big and clumsy). Alternatively, there's a space for you to peg the gun on his back, a handy touch. Articulation is great, and there's lightpiping for his eye that works really well. Apart from the head reveal and gun, there's no real gimmick to speak of. The articulation is what you would expect. Overall, a good robot mode.

Overall:

A fun toy to fiddle around with. After looking at Shockwave's case mates Jazz and Optimus, I think Shockwave is the best figure and mold out of the Wave 1 Generations (being Shockwave, he's a popular one too, flying off the shelves in Asia leaving the other two 'shelfwarming' in abundance). Get it!

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"sometimes the things you see might not be real and the things that are real you might not see"

Popped open mine tonight and very impressed, his joints were all super tight and though his legs are hollow it seems to suit him.
I love that his gun is interchangeable for single barrel or triple barrel mode, triple being my preferred option.
I also found that you can store the front section of his gun in the lower section of his back under his backpack which I personally think looks really neat.
Lots of personality and colours are great, get him when you can